Department of Philosophy, Hofstra University Amy Baehr ...

Hofstra University Department of PhilosophyFall 2022 Courses

PHI 05H Insights: Happiness*1 credit TR 3:00-4:00 (10/4-11/17) CRN: 93538 Professor Singer

PHI 009X Philosophical Explorations*1 credit M 6:00-8:00 (10/3-11/3) CRN: 93667 Professor Karofsky

PHI 10A What Does It All Mean?: Life, Meaning and Philosophy (HP) TR 9:40-11:05, CRN: 92699 Professor McEvoy

PHI 10B Philosophic Themes in Film (HP) MW 4:20-5:45, CRN: 92700 Instructor TBA TR 4:20-5:45, CRN: 92701 Professor Karofsky

PHI 10F Introduction to Philosophy (HP) *FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY *4 credits TR 12:30-2:25, CRN: 91361 Professor Karofsky

PHI 10G Wondering and Wandering: AHistorical Tour of Western Philosophy (HP) TR 2:40-4:05 CRN: 93540 Professor Acampora

PHI 14 Introduction to Ethics (HP) Multiple sections, multiple instructors One section WI; one section mid-semester begin

PHI 14F.01 The Meaning of Life (HP) *FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY *4 credits MW 9:10-11:05, CRN: 91245 Professor McEvoy

PHI 14F.02 Law, Politics and Society (HP) *FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY *4 credits MW 9:10-11:05, CRN: 93685 Professor Ostrow

PHI 15 Law, Philosophy and Public Life(HP) MW 11:20-12:45, CRN: 92145 Professor Baehr

PHI 15F Law, Philosophy and Public Life(HP) *FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY MW 2:40-4:05, 93541

PHI 17 Intro to Eastern Philosophy (CC) MW 11:20-12:45, CRN: 90791 Instructor TBA

PHI 51D Dangerous Ideas*1 credit M 2:40-4:35 (begins 9/29), CRN: 93542 Professor Wallace and others

PHI 103 Life, Death and Immortality (CC) MW 2:40-4:05, CRN: 90792 Instructor TBA

PHI 115 Philosophy and LiteratureTR 11:20-12:45, CRN: 93543 Professor McEvoy

PHI 130 Bioethics:Medicine & Morality (HP) TR 4:20-5:45, CRN: 93544 Professor Acampora

PHI 141 Ancient and Medieval PhilosophyTR 2:40-4:05, CRN: 93545 Professor Karofsky

PHI 154 Symbolic Logic (QR) MW 9:40-11:05, CRN: 91647 Professor Eliot

PHI 164 Philosophy of MindTR 9:40-11:05, CRN: 93546 Professor Dardis

Amy Baehr (department chair); Joanne Herlihy (administrative assistant). 516-463-5612; [email protected]

PHI 005H Insights: Happiness (1 cr.) This course will examine various philosophical theories about the nature of Happiness. Each student will be encouraged to consider his or her own life and views about happiness. This course has no prerequisites, and doesn't presuppose prior experience in philosophy. No prior experience in philosophy required.

PHI 009X Philosophical Explorations (1 cr.) This course is for students who are looking for some philosophical inspiration for an artistic or creative piece of work! Students will explore a philosophical topic of their choice and then work to develop an expression of it in an alternative medium, such as a screenplay, a short story, a poem, a piece of music, a dance, a painting, or some other artistic piece. This class has no prerequisites and is designed especially for students who have never taken a philosophy course before.

PHI 10A What Does It All Mean: Life, Meaning and Philosophy (HP) (3 cr.) What does it all mean? What is the point of life? We’ve all wondered about these questions from time to time. There are a range of answers available. For some people, the meaning of life has to do with God; for others, it is happiness; for others, it is helping others. Some thinkers reject the idea of a “one size fits all” view of meaning, and hold that we must create our own meaning, while still others argue that life has no meaning. Whatever the answer, the question of life’s meaning quickly becomes entangled with other philosophical questions. This course will examine various approaches to the question of the meaning of life, and how this question connects with other important philosophical questions.

PHI 10B Philosophic Themes in Film (HP) (3 cr.) An introduction to various philosophical issues that arise in contemporary films like Ad Astra, Arrival, Ex Machina, Her, Beautiful Boy, Silence, A Serious Man, Edge of Tomorrow, Inception, and The Matrix. Some of the issues examined include the problem of skepticism, the mind-body problem, personal identity, artificial intelligence, free will and determinism, moral dilemmas, and the meaning of life.

PHI 10F Introduction to Philosophy (HP) (4 cr.) FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY An introduction to some of the major questions in philosophy like: Are my actions determined? Or can I make free choices? Do I have a mind that is distinct from my brain? What makes me me? Could robots ever be conscious? Do animals think? Was there a beginning of the universe? Does God exist? If so, why is there evil in the world? Can I know anything with certainty? And what, if anything, is the meaning of life?

PHI 10G Wondering & Wandering: A Historical Tour of Western Philosophy (HP) (3 cr.) Philosophy proceeds by wonder, and in this course we will wander through ages spanning two and half millenniums and the whole Mediterranean world from northern Africa through all of Europe in search of the wonderings of philosophers who constitute the Western tradition. Towards the end, we will briefly touch upon contemporary philosophers of America. Our twin targets of attention throughout will be metaphysics (or ontology) and epistemology (theory of knowledge).

PHI 014 Introduction to Ethics (HP) (3 cr.) The focus of this course is on critical reasoning about ethics. It reviews major approaches to ethical values and examines the bases for why some conduct (like killing, deceit, fraud) is wrong, and why some things (like freedom, fairness, compassion) are valuable. The course also examines the relationship between ethics and society, with focus on contemporary issues. For example: ethics in professional or business contexts, health and medical contexts, ethics in personal relationships, and environmental ethics.

PHI 14F.01 The Meaning of Life (HP) (4 cr.) FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY This class pursues questions about the meaning of life through discussions and readings.

PHI 14F.02 Law, Politics and Society (HP) (4 cr.) FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY Every year, tens of thousands of young people enter law school and begin the study of legal rules. Most do so because they see the legal profession as a noble calling, and they enter it with a desire to promote justice. In their three years of full-time study of the law, however, these future lawyers will spend little time thinking critically about those rules and about the place of the lawyer in a just society. In this course, we explore how our legal rules and constitutional norms have developed; how the American legal system interacts with the rest of our political institutions; how it reflects the cultural norms, class distinctions and idiosyncrasies of our society; and how legal rules and the role of the lawyer relate to larger ideals of a just society.

PHI 15 Law, Philosophy and Public Life (HP) (3 cr.) Introduction to political philosophies that animate contemporary politics in the United States, including libertarianism, liberalism, and conservatism. Focus is on how these philosophies play out in disagreements about issues such as climate change, taxation, race and gender, immigration, and the role of religion in public life.

PHI 17 Introduction to Eastern Philosophy (CC) (3 cr.) Introduction to the major schools of Indian philosophy, along with the Japanese School of Zen Buddhism and the Chinese philosophy of Taoism.

PHI 51D Dangerous Ideas (1 cr.) Ideas matter. Concepts such as cultural identity, the meaning of food, democracy, faith, race, freedom, gender, have inspired social movements, shaped ways of life and political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Scientific ideas (such as evolution, species extinction, climate science) and skepticism about science also have power to shape our lives. Powerful ideas can be dangerous, generating turmoil and destabilizing the status quo, or supporting the status quo when change is needed, or creating unanticipated consequences. There is no required reading for the course, but attendance is required.

PHI 103 Life, Death and Immortality (CC) (3 cr.) This course examines the concepts of life, death and immortality as represented in religious and literary texts from a range of cross-cultural sources: western and non-western monotheistic traditions, eastern traditions (e.g., Tibetan and Indian), middle-eastern (e.g., Turkish), African, and Native American. It also examines the encounter between a native tradition and a western colonial, typically Judeo-Christian presence. Discussion as well of the implications of these concepts for such issues as abortion, euthanasia, and suicide.

PHI 115 Philosophy and Literature (3 cr.) An investigation into philosophical issues raised by or within literature. Possible topics include the puzzle of why we care for literary characters that do not exist, the claim that some truths can be revealed only through literature, the question of whether an immoral work can be a literary work, and the exploration in literary works of philosophical ideas like utopia, evil, free will, and many others.

PHI 130 Bioethics: Medicine & Morality (HP) (3 cr.) An investigation of moral theory as applied to the traditional and modern practices of medicine, including techniques informed by recent developments in biological science. Meaning and value of health and disease, life and death will be explored. The course will be especially helpful to philosophy majors or minors concentrating on ethics and to any students preparing to become healthcare professionals.

PHI 141 Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (3 cr.) A historical survey of ancient and medieval philosophy, examining pre-Socratic philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic thinkers, and medieval writers. The course is designed to help students develop competency in the oral presentation of philosophical ideas and arguments.

PHI 154 Symbolic Logic (QR) (3 cr.) A formal study of the logical properties and relationships of sentences by means of the construction of a symbolic language for sentential and predicate logic.

PHI 164 Philosophy of Mind (3 cr.) Philosophy of mind discusses issues like the mind/body problem, artificial intelligence, the nature of consciousness and intentionality, and mental causation. Some typical questions are: What are minds? Are they the same or different from souls? How could brains possibly think? Can animals, babies or computers think? Can persons change bodies? Could you or I survive the death of our bodies?

PHI 005H: Happiness

Happiness, or a good life, is a widely shared and fundamental goal. But how do we understand this goal? Is it a matter of pleasure? Of relationships? Of

achievements? Of meaning? Of some kind of balance or harmony? In this course we'll discuss a wide

variety of ideas about the good life, from various traditions. No prior experience in philosophy

required.

Come smile your way to a better understanding of HAPPINESS in this one-credit course.

LOGIC MIN

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ETHICS

NATURAL WORLD PHI9X: PHIL STUDIO: PHIL EXPLORATIONS THINK OUTSIDE

PHILOSOPHY THE BOX BEING

CRITICAL COGNITIVE SCIENCEREASONING

KNOW

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Looking for some INSPIRATION for that art project, poem, song, script, short story, dance, piece of music, or any other creative piece of work?

Maybe a little PHILOSOPHICAL EXPLORATION would help!

In PHI 9X: PHILOSOPHICAL EXPLORATIONS, students will explore a philosophical topic of their choice and then work to develop an expression of it in alternative media, such as a screenplay, a short story, a poem, a piece of music, a dance, a painting, or some other artistic piece.

This class has no prerequisites and is designed for students who have never taken a philosophy course before.

PHI 10A (HP): Life, Meaning & Philosophy

What does it all mean? What is the point of life? We’ve all wondered about these questions from time to time. But have you noticed how they are entangled with other philosophical questions? For example, some people think that life can only have meaning if God exists. If that’s true, then we need to consider what reasons there are for thinking God exists.

Or we might think that we can give our life meaning through the free choices we make. But now we have to consider whether we truly have free will. And must our choices be ethical? If so, then we have to think about how to make ethical choices.

This course examines various approaches to the question of the meaning of life, and how this question connects with other important philosophical questions.

Like movies that make you THINK?

Then you should take PHI 10B: Philosophic Themes in Film

In PHI 16, we will explore some key philosophical issues such as: skepticism, free will and determinism, artificial intelligence, and ethics. We will use movies like Ad Astra, Arrival, Ex Machina, Her, Beautiful Boy, Silence, A Serious Man, Edge of Tomorrow, Inception, and The Matrix in order to help us to think about these problems and analyze various solutions that are offered to them.

This course has no prerequisites.

PHI 10F: Introduction to Philosophy

Are my actions determined? Or can I make free choices? Do I have a mind that is distinct from my brain? What makes me me? Could robots ever be conscious? Do animals think? Was there a beginning of the universe? Does God exist? If so, why is there evil in the world? Can I know anything with certainty? And what, if anything, is the meaning of life?

These are just a few of the questions that we'll be discussing in this class. We will examine answers to these questions from some of the major figures from the history of philosophy – ancient, modern, and contemporary.

As an introductory course, no previous knowledge of philosophy is required.

PHILOSOPHY 10G (HP)

WONDERING AND WANDERING: AN

HISTORICAL TOUR OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy proceeds by wonder, and in this course we will wander through ages spanning two and half millenniums and the whole Mediterranean world from northern Africa through all of Europe in search of the wonderings of philosophers who constitute the Western tradition. Towards the end, we will briefly touch upon contemporary philosophers of America. Our twin targets of attention throughout will be metaphysics (or ontology) and epistemology (theory of knowledge).

PHI 14

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (HP)

People often make claims about good ways to live and right ways to act. What exactly do these claims mean? How, if at all, can we reasonably settle disputes about what way of life is best, and what action is right? What sort of authority do moral claims have over us? This course explores answers to these questions by studying several important moral theories.

PHI 14F Law, Politics and Society

A seminar for first year students

Every year, tens of thousands of young people enter law school and begin the study of legal rules. Most do so because they see the legal profession as a noble calling, and they enter it with a desire to promote justice. In their three years of full-time study of the law, however, these future lawyers will spend little time thinking critically about those rules and about the place of the lawyer in a just society. In this course, we explore how our legal rules and constitutional norms have developed; how the American legal system interacts with the rest of our political institutions; how it reflects the cultural norms, class distinctions and idiosyncrasies of our society; and how legal rules and the role of the lawyer relate to larger ideals of a just society.

The Meaning of Life Phi 14F/S

What does it all mean? What is the point of life? We’ve all wondered about these questions from time to time.

And there are a range of answers available. For some people, the meaning of life has to do with God; for others, it is happiness; for others, it is helping others. Some thinkers reject the idea of a “one size fits all” view of meaning, and hold that we must create our own meaning, while still others argue that life has no meaning.

Whatever the answer, the question of life’s meaning quickly becomes entangled with other philosophical questions. This course will examine various approaches to the question of the meaning of life, and how this question connects with other important philosophical questions.

PHI 15 Law, Philosophy and Public Life

Are you a libertarian?

A classical liberal?

A progressive liberal?

A socialist?

A conservative?

PHI 15 introduces students to these contemporary political philosophies.

In discussion, we explore the way these different political philosophies frame, and answer, questions about:

*income and wealth inequality *reparations for slavery and Jim Crow

*global climate change *recreational drug use

*the caregiving crisis and gender equality *immigration

Along the way, we will explore a few other ‘isms’ including authoritarianism and nationalism.

PHI 17 (CC),3 credits Introduction to Eastern Philosophy

We will explore a variety of Eastern philosophical traditions, such as Buddhist and Confucian philosophies. A fascinating entry into a different way of thinking

about the world, human relationships and how to live one's life. We will consider such topics as the role of suffering in life, beliefs about the afterlife, and

the nature of the self.

Dangerous Ideas, 1 s.h.

Philosophy section of this course is PHI 51D

An idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all. Oscar Wilde

The most dangerous ideas in a society are not the ones being argued but the ones that are assumed. C. S. Lewis

Ideas matter. Concepts such as cultural identity, the meaning of and practices around food, democracy, faith, race, freedom, gender, individualism, socialism have inspired social movements, shaped ways of life and political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Scientific ideas (such as evolution, species extinction, climate science, herd immunity) also shape our lives. Even ideas about growth, innovation, tradition, entrepreneurship resonate and influence us in subtle ways. Powerful ideas can be dangerous, generating turmoil and destabilizing the status quo, or supporting the status quo when change is needed, or creating unanticipated consequences.

This one-credit course explores some powerful ideas in human experience. Topics vary from semester to semester. Each week a faculty member from a different department will explore a concept that has shaped human experience across time and space. This course is also an opportunity to explore the different methodologies and approaches to ideas in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences with faculty from diverse departments, including Philosophy, Literature, Natural and Social Sciences.

Attendance and participation in discussion activities are obligatory and a brief reflection paper at the end of the course will be required. The course is available only on a pass/D+/D/fail basis.

PHI 103 (CC) Life, Death and Immortality

Birth. Life. Death. And then?

Personal Immortality? Reincarnation? Nothingness? Reward/Punishment?

Explore western and non-western views on these questions.

Phi 115: Philosophy and Literature

The study of literature invites some intriguing philosophical questions:

If a monkey accidentally typed out a Shakespearean play, would this be literature?

Does “what the author intends” settle what a particular poem or novel means? If so, what happens when the author forgets what he meant by a poem (as Dylan Thomas claimed to have done)? Does it mean nothing?

If we know that the story isn’t true, how can ghost stories—or movies—scare us?

Are there truths that only literature can teach us?

In this course, we will examine these, and other questions.

The course will thus be an introduction to the Philosophy of Literature. Our readings will consist of philosophical essays about literature, rather than literature itself, although we will refer to literary works.

PHI-130: BIOETHICS (HP)

This course provides a critical introduction to the field of bioethics, especially regarding salient concerns in modern medicine. We review the elements of moral philosophy and survey select issues in health care; then we move on to consider the wider reaches of the field in biocentric ethics. Teaching and learning styles can include lecture, collaboration, discussion, visual presentation, and oral reporting.

PHI 141: Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

Ever wonder where Western philosophy started?

This course covers some of the major philosophical figures from the ancient and medieval periods, including: Thales, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas. We will explore the significant philosophic positions held by these philosophers and the influence that these philosophers had upon each other and upon later thinkers.

*This course satisfies a requirement for the philosophy major.

*This course satisfies the Writing Intensive (WI) requirement.

Introduction to Symbolic Logic

PHI 154

We all reason with ideas. We all also know how to reason about quantities. But consider how much better we become at reasoning about quantities when we learn a little math: we learn how to compute powerfully and how to think more clearly about many topics. The aim of this course is learning to do something parallel with statements and ideas. You will become proficient at using a formal system for representing statements. This will yield techniques for assessing the consistency of statements and the validity of arguments. We will also focus on recognizing the logical structure of ordinary statements, to which we can then apply our new tools. Familiarity with this formal system will furnish you with a powerful skill for analyzing arguments—in your own writing and in others’.

PHI 164 Philosophy of Mind

Minds are philosophically puzzling because they are hard to fit into the natural world (and, of course, because they are us!). Dualisms say that minds or souls are special things that are distinct from bodies. Monisms say that the mind is nothing but the body.

Each kind of view has serious intellectual objections. In this course we will look at the arguments for dualism and for monism. We will focus on whether and how the sciences, particularly psychology and neuroscience, can tell us what the nature of the mind is. Particular topics may include consciousness, sensation (color perception, pain, smell), emotion, animal thought, and artificial intelligence.

This class is a seminar. This means that there will be a lot of discussion and student interaction, and relatively little lecturing by the instructor.